Thursday, February 08, 2018

You forgot. I didn't! They told us the fight against ISIS would last for 30 years!

I was debating a reader about the situation in Syria and one thing became obvious.

His memory of the fight against ISIS isn't as clear as it should be.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not slamming the guy. Just trying to correct conventional wisdom on this thing.

The conventional wisdom is that "of course we killed ISIS" that's what we do.

Many are forgetting that I screamed at the sky that what we were hearing about the fight against ISIS didn't make sense. I yelled that a force that could handily defeat the Iraqi army in weeks was said to need decades to defeat a force that numbers just over 100K fighters at it's height?

In case you forgot those tales of woe being spun by many Generals and talking heads then I present these articles as a refresher...

via ShiiteNews.com

The war against the ISIS will continue for THIRTY YEARS, according to a former director of the CIA.The veteran spy boss urged Britain to invade Syria and bring the fight to the jihadis, who he said would continue their reign of terror for another three decades.

The sobering prediction from General Michael Hayden, who headed up the CIA from 2006 to 2009, came a week after the world was rocked by the devastating terror attacks in Paris, which left 130 dead.

Jihadis, at least one of whom entered Europe by pretending to be a refugee fleeing from the brutal regime, used guns and bombs to attack the Stade de France, the Bataclan Concert Hall and a series of bars and restaurants across the capital.

We’re not winning, and against an adversary like ISIS, if you’re not winning then you probably further say you’re losing because having you’re citizens put at risk and killed, General Michael Hayden, CIA boss 2006-2009

In the wake of the attacks, General Hayden, said that the only way to beat the terrorists was to battle them on their own turf in Syria and Iraq.

He urged Britain, America and their allies to launch an all-out attack on the terrorist organisation to prevent further tragic incidents.

He said: “We’re not winning, and against an adversary like ISIS, if you’re not winning then you probably further say you’re losing because having you’re citizens put at risk and killed.

“Their claim is they are acting out the will of God… and nothing cuts against that narrative more than defeating them.”

He compared the current crisis to the Thirty Years’ War of the 17th century, which was fought between Protestants and Catholics after the Holy Roman Empire tried to impose religious uniformity.

General Hayden is not the only high-ranking figure to publicly predict a long and brutal fight against ISIS.

Last year the former Pentagon chief Leon Panetta also predicted a 30-year battle against the jihadi terrorists, adding that the conflict could spread from Syria and Iraq into Libya, Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen.

And even before the recent attacks in Paris, one of the US Army’s top officers also said this year that it could take decades to wipe the jihadis out.

General Ray Odierno, the Army’s chief of staff, said this July: “In my mind, ISIS is a ten to twenty year problem, it’s not a two years problem.

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via Foreign Policy.com

The exchange, which came in July during what is likely to be Dempsey’s final visit to Iraq before he steps down in October, captured what top Pentagon brass view as a “generational conflict” against the Islamic State. Despite optimistic assessments from the White House, the generals believe the war will extend far into the future, long after President Barack Obama leaves office.

In an interview with Foreign Policy in July, shortly before stepping down as vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Sandy Winnefeld likened the campaign against the Islamic State to the Cold War.

“I do think it’s going to be a generational struggle,” Winnefeld said.

The Army’s outgoing chief of staff, Gen. Ray Odierno, meanwhile, told reporters that “in my mind, ISIS is a 10- to 20-year problem; it’s not a two years problem.”

Because ISIS wasn't the focus. Syria was (at least during Obama's term in office). How do we know? Cause in steps Trump, he demands a new war plan to defeat ISIS and in a matter of a few months we're seeing their death throes.

What else have we seen? Suddenly those big terror attacks in Europe are a thing of the past.